Misconceptions
by Hitokun
Summary: FE:SS One summer's night, a lone mercenary leader traverses the camp grounds, his ears perceiving strange sounds...Could he just be...imagining it? JoshuaxMarisa


A/N: Whoa...My umm third un-beta-ed fic...oh well, I don't want to waste Kazu sempai's time And this...is a fic that i wouldn't really liek to present...since it is the bullcrap that hath spawned from the depths of my boredom. Read and review please!

Standard disclaimer applies…

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**Misconceptions**

_Assumptions are assumptions. Until you can prove it's really what it is, you can't call that the truth…

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Gerik, the strapping Desert Tiger, strolled along leisurely through the camp, the full moon shining bright above him. He took another bite of the crisp, red apple he held in his hand as he continued to walk.

The mercenary passed the dimly lighted tents in which his comrades were resting in, wondering what they were all doing at this hour. Ephraim's inventive idea of having co-ed tent-mates was quite absurd, since everyone got to pick whomever they wanted. Gerik knew for a fact that Ephraim was bunking with Eirika, Seth with Natasha, and Vanessa with the Prince Innes. However, there was the exception of Neimi strongly insisting on bunking with Amelia, due to her...'problems with men...' As well, it was strange enough that he hadn't seen or heard from Marisa the whole day, so he'd just have to find out later who she chose to stay with.

The night air was as brisk as a winter night in Jehanna, the blistering temperatures only decreasing slightly in the wintry weather. Sounds of whispered conversations came from within each tent; signaling that most of the occupants were still awake.

"Ohhh!"

Gerik stopped cold in his tracks. That voice…it couldn't be. The shock of the situation hit him, and he painfully choked out the apple piece that was in his mouth. He hunted around the general area he was in; until he was sure he found the tent that was the source of that voice.

"Ahh! D-don't…don't stop!"

After hearing it again, it was unmistakable. Though there was more emotion and intonation in her voice than he'd heard in all his time spent with her, it was definitely his cold and unapproachable companion, Marisa. He leaned in closer to the flap of the tent, straining to hear every word.

"Harder, harder…yes…that's it…"

He knew he shouldn't be listening in on such personal conversations, but he couldn't help himself. It was so deliciously interesting…Now the question of who was in there with the beauteous Marisa remained.

A breathy moan escaped the walls of their tent, followed by a shifting of some sort. Gerik whispered to himself, "Marisa…What on earth are you doing in there…" There was no way he could see through the dense fabric of the tent, but he just had to know who was making the shy Marisa moan and cry out like that…

"Your fingers are miraculous…and your skin is so soft against mine, how do you keep it that way…?"

"Wouldn't you like know? Maybe I'll show you when you come back to Jehanna with me…"

It was the other occupant in Marisa's tent this time. He sounded so much like Joshua, that lucky King of the desert region, who won 1000 gold off him…But how on earth would Joshua know Marisa…? Well, anything could've happened to cause them to cross paths… No matter what his rationalization was, he refused to consider it to be Joshua…

Another moan from Marisa, and Gerik's eye twitched slightly…

"Joshua…you're as dexterous with your hands on the battlefield as you are off…"

Gerik's eyes widened and his mouth hung open. It _was_ that gambler, recently exposed as the King of Jehanna. He nearly burst with laughter as he planned to tell Tethys how Marisa wasn't as hopeless as they thought.

"Damn…you make me feel so good…" Again, Gerik's mouth dropped open at that blatant comment from the mouth of the always emotionally masked Marisa.

After hearing that, he decided he just had to listen to every single word, to inform Tethys of all the juicy details. And also to confirm for himself, that Marisa was an actual living, feeling human being, not just as the empty shell she presented to everyone.

Thinking, he thought maybe this nice, and _human_ side of Marisa was only for Joshua to see…

Almost doubling over with laughter at the thought, he unfortunately lost his balance…and tumbled right through the tent's opening... Sprawled over the ground, he could hear Marisa screaming at him, or talking to him…he could never tell by her usually monotone and cold voice. But given the situation, he'd guess that she was incredibly irate. Looking up from the tent floor's covering, he expected to see something like Marisa, clutching the white covers to her chest, and Joshua, frantically try to slip on his trousers, but he saw nothing of the sort.

To his surprise, they were both fully clothed, and Joshua even had his ridiculous green hat on. Marisa was kneeling in front of Joshua who sat on the tent's single cot, his hands still outstretched to the young swordswoman's shoulders.

Gerik looked at them, completely confused.

Marisa had crossed her arms tightly in front of her chest, was clearly irritated, and kindly asked the mercenary leader to explain his actions.

Gerik, smiled sheepishly, not wanting to face the awful wrath of Marisa's bad side. "Well, there's a very simple explanation to all this…" He took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was going to say. "I assumed that you two were doing something…of…inappropriate conduct in your tent by the –ahem- sounds I heard…"

Marisa and Joshua grew quite red in the face at the allegation. And Joshua spoke up to defend them both.

"Marisa lost yet another bet against me, so I asked her to let me do something nice for her. And I gave her a massage to relieve all the tension and stress in her body. That's what we were doing, and not whatever _you_ were thinking about, Gerik…"

The brawny swordfighter swore he saw Joshua's lip twitch up, almost into a smile at that last sentence, and out of the corner of his eye, it seemed Marisa was trying to cover up a giggle of some sort with that cough of hers… He shook his head. He was getting far too suspicious now…Marisa, giggling…no way in hell… There must've been a speck of dust in his eyes or something…

Giving the pair a sincere apology, he strode out of the tent, walking back to his own temporary dwelling. He slapped his head in frustration…ashamed that he would actually accuse Marisa and Joshua of committing such acts…

As he passed by the Renais' royal tent, he heard the same provocative sounds, as he did from Marisa's tent. Eirika's distinct feminine voice calling her brother's name reached his ears, followed by a moan and a groan of sorts…

He thought to himself, _'Ephraim and Eirika…? What is wrong with me tonight…They're twins for goodness' sake…I can't go about thinking of people like this, now can I…?' _Gerik walked even faster, wanting to stop his imagination from running wild yet again…

Meanwhile, back in Marisa and Joshua's tent, they conversed in low voices, cautious not to be too loud, lest someone listen in on them again.

Marisa sighed, "That was close…"

"I know what you mean…Had he walked in a little later; I'm not so sure I'd only be giving you a massage…" Joshua replied, sidling up to where Marisa was seated on the ground as he put his arms around her slender shoulders.

Marisa chuckled knowingly, resting her head against him. Swiftly, a devilish grin made its way onto the delicate contours of her face. Nestling closer to the king, she wrapped her arms around his mid-section. She idly traced patterns on his chiseled chest as she whispered to him, the smirk clearly heard in her voice. "Lose a bet against you…? Since when has that ever happened?"

"Well, I could always dream." The king smiled widely, his light tone dancing across the atmosphere as he gently pressed kisses along the trail of her collarbone, his hands moving on their own, bringing forth a sharp gasp from the slender woman.

Try to talk over the heat slowly building up in her, she playfully teased, a new tone she had learned recently. From Neimi of all people… She purred, her words playing against the King's wiry neck. "About that…When am I going to get my payment from all those lost games, future King of Jehanna…?"

He grinned like a Cheshire cat, his pearly whites showing and all. "Well, I guess I should repay you shouldn't I? Is now a good time?" He didn't wait for her reply as he captured her sweet lips in his. The next few minutes resulted in Marisa making sounds that caused Gerik, who had doubled back to get something, debate on whether he should stop whatever was going on in their tent, or walk past nonchalantly as he did with the previous nine tents. It seemed that with the spring weather upon them, everyone's hormones were going awry.

On an off note, Gerik knew for a fact that one of those tents housed Neimi and Amelia….but they were both girls…how could- Gerik stopped at that, just banished the entire thought out of his mind as he strolled calmly to his tent, disregarding his thoughts and classifying his suspicions as misunderstandings…. For the sake of his own mental sanity at least.


End file.
